Zelenskyy says he hears protesters' demands: I haven't made final decision yet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said it is right that Ukrainians are able to hold peaceful protests and express their views even during the war, adding that he has not yet reached the conclusion on the issue they have raised.

Source: Zelenskyy at a press conference on 16 July

Quote: "As for the people who came out [to protest – ed.] – we are fighting for freedom and democracy, so I think we are doing everything right. And people are doing what they want to do. They wanted to come out, and that's the right thing to do. And if, even during the war, with all its difficulties and restrictions, people can express their will, then I consider that the most important thing."

Details: Zelenskyy added that he does not just hear the people, but often responds to their questions, even though at times he would rather not, so as not to inform Russia as well.

Quote: "So I understand, I hear and I even respond. I mean, I respond to some things I wouldn't want to get into in that much detail. Not because there are secrets from our society – there are secrets from the Russians."

More details: Commenting on the possible appointment of acting Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko to the post of defence minister, the president said he is considering him as "one of the candidates" and that he has "not yet submitted the relevant documents to the parliament".

Zelenskyy also said he believes Klymenko has very strong qualities and is capable of overcoming "shameful busification practices" during mobilisation. [Busification is the controversial practice of forced mobilisation in which recruitment officers detain men in public, often bundling them onto minibuses to transport them to enlistment offices – ed.]

Quote: "But again, this is a question I am still considering... Well, that's it. That's where I'm trying to put the ellipsis in my answer, because I haven't put the full stop yet."

Read more: Lies, isolation, blocking: Fedorov names 11 major problems he found in Defence Ministry

Previously: Earlier on 16 July, reports emerged of a protest in support of acting Defence Minister Minister Mykhailo Fedorov taking place near the President's Office in Kyiv and a number of Ukrainian cities. Participants are asking the authorities to reinstate Fedorov in the new government and not to hand the defence minister's post to Ihor Klymenko.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the planned changes at the Defence Ministry, has acknowledged that Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi have been unable to work together effectively and that problems on the battlefield, in military brigades and with mobilisation remain unresolved.

Background:

• On 14 July, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) approved Yuliia Svyrydenko's resignation as prime minister, a decision which entails the resignation of the entire government.
• Ukrainska Pravda sources said the authorities planned to form the new government on 15 July. The Verkhovna Rada was expected to vote on the new Cabinet of Ministers on 16 July.
• According to Ukrainska Pravda sources within the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not put Fedorov forward for the post of defence minister. Instead, he is expected to nominate Ihor Klymenko, who is currently serving as acting Interior Minister.
• Sources in the faction also say Fedorov remains on the president's team, "but what he will do next will become clearer next week".
• On 15 July, Fedorov summarised his tenure as defence minister, outlining what he had not managed to accomplish and stressing that he would continue his mission to "defeat the enemy through asymmetry, the speed of innovation and the power of organisation".

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